“Fallon Fox was born a man. In 2006, when she was 30, she had gender reassignment surgery.

Fox is now a (sic) MMA fighter for the Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA). Her record is 2-0 after destroying Ericka Newsome Saturday night in 39 seconds with a vicious knee to the head.

“Fox says she now wants to fight “at the highest level” — which in the MMA world is only one place — the UFC.”

Fox insists she is a woman in every respect and just happens to fall into the category of postoperative transsexual. She compares herself to any other category of women, including blacks, lesbians and the disabled.

Fox says she has no advantage over naturally born women.”

As the article goes on to state, Fox has only won bouts against women who have never fought or even won a match before. So in reality, she has to get her weight up – proverbial speaking – to even begin thinking about the UFC. But based upon her picture alone, I wouldn’t try her. That’s why I’m going to pull a Kevin Hart and keep my comments on the up and up. Ain’t no aspiring UFC fighter coming after me for writing junk about the legitimacy of her record in no column. She’s not going be whooping my behind talking about “WoooooorldStaaaaaar…”

All jokes aside though, because this is a serious topic here for folks dealing physically and physiologically with the turmoil that comes from being in a body, which doesn’t conform to how they feel about themselves internally. Once a person makes the courageous decision to match their externals with their internals, then comes the complicated matter of figuring out how that is supposed to operate in a society, which only recognizes gender in narrow terms. This too applies to the athletic of us. Of course, there have been transgender women playing in female sports before like Kye Allums, a transgender man (a man born a female) and former junior guard at George Washington University. He became the first Division I college basketball player to compete publicly as a transgender person. His place on the team, while not the subject to extreme hostility, was also a source of controversy among his teammates, who while not outright objecting to his placement on the team, felt that his sexuality was a distraction.

And sometimes you don’t even have to be transgendered to have your gender identity serve as a distraction, such as in the instance of Mokgadi Caster Semenya, the South African runner and world champion who sparked international controversy over questions about her gender. While born female, Semenya, who does not abide by more Western and European standards of femininity, was made to adhere to gender testing, including tests to determine if her chromosomes were consistent with being female and if her testosterone levels exceeded the acceptable threshold (hyperandrogenism), after race officials questioned her stellar performance and win at the 2009 World Championship. According to various published reports, there are a handful of female-born athletes with excessive levels of testosterone who have been required by the International Association of Athletics Federations, or IAAF, to undergo surgery or receive hormone therapy in order to qualify for competition. While Semenya has been tight-lipped about whether or not she too had to undergo any of these corrective actions by the IAAF, however, as noted by The Atlantic Wire, she “has gotten more feminine looking over the last few years.” Her new “softer” appearance has also had an effect on her performance and not necessarily for the better, which begs another question about any possible advantages, which might come from being a transgendered athlete, particularly a transgender woman competing against naturally-born women.

According to this article in the Toronto Star, scientists differ on the effects that sex-reassignment surgery or hyperandrogenism might have on the performance of an athlete with some rejecting the idea of any advantages while others have suggested that there is an “unfair advantage,” due to “more muscle mass, easier recovery and a higher level of blood red cells.” And as stated by the article in Sports Illustrated, the International Olympic Committee ruled in 2004 that “any trans athlete who wants to compete against those not of their birth sex must undergo sex reassignment surgery and then two years of hormone therapy—either testosterone supplementation (to go from female to male) or testosterone suppression (to go from male to female).” Other sports governing bodies have too taken a similar stance to such athletes, including the NCAA, which decided against requiring surgeries, but does require trans females “to undergo only one year of testosterone suppression before they can compete against women; trans males can receive a medical exemption to take testosterone under a doctor’s supervision but can no longer compete on a women’s team.”

The non-uniform standards for participation means that transgendered athletes and those with questionable gender identities will continue to be subjected to a dehumanizing situation and discrimination in order to compete professionally. Unfortunately for Fox, this might be a question that she will have to deal with if she ever reaches the level of being a UFC fighter. And as for whether or not she should be able to fight against women; I mean – and I’m being real here – if she were huskier in build, I would be like Hell No! People interested in watching a big woman have an unfair advantage over a little woman probably enjoy watching similar-style beatdowns on WorldStarHipHop. However, since she pretty much embodies the standard physical form as the average female-born UFC fighter, I don’t see there being an advantage for her because she was born male.

But I am curious about what other folks think. Is there an unfair advantage in transgendered, particularly trans-women, competing intra-gender?

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN

Billy

I’ve NEVER seen a real women’s fight last only 39 seconds…. They just don’t generate that kind of K.O. power. I have seen 2 Minute K.O. and this chick hit like a dude as it was. To be born a man, you already have more power than your natural women. This is only promoting Men hitting Women….. If anything this “chick” should fight in the Bantam Men’s division which is where they are on equal grounds in terms of strength.

a lot of ignoramuses here. Once a man stops taking testosterone, his bone density and muscle mass decreases. With the addition of her hormone therapy she is more woman than man by this point.

Olatunji

Hell No!!! No matter what they’ve done to their sex organ, he still possesses the strength of a man, not a woman.

http://www.facebook.com/quincy.sweet Quincy Sweet

She was a man. Period. Bone density is completely different than a natural born woman. A trained 145lb pound man is stronger than a 145lb woman 10 times out of 10. You can’t get around it. This dude is nuts.

http://twitter.com/MOTRenaissance Adonis

LMFAO at this whole article & comments

sammi_lu

“Fox insists she is a woman in every respect…that’s cool and all but it’s going to be a hard sell getting enough people to co-sign your delusion.

Janeben

Exactly! LOL. Plus, women don’t have to go around convincing other people that they are women. Only men who want to be women have to do that.

Janeben

Exactly! LOL. Plus, women don’t have to go around convincing other people that they are women. Only men who want to be women have to do that.

LadyS4u

No, I am sorry she is still a man. She may be a woman on the outside but her insides tell it all. She still has a man strength!!! I don’t think the competition would equal.

OSHH

No

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

Depending on how much estrogen she takes, then here should be no problem with her wrestling females.

Dichu eba realy lub mehSteebie

Do you she that he/she’s body?! Its clearly a man with that physique and most definitely should NOT be fighting a woman in the ring. Are they kidding me with this one? Its still the rules!

dhgwen

No. I don’t care how much lipstick, weave, nail polish or “man”-made assets are sculpted into female anatomy; a man is a man is a man, and unless they swapped your DNA, you Sir, are a dude. And dudes don’t box/battle women (not in a ring anyway)!

STARO

Hi.la.ri.ous! The answer to this one: H@ll NO. “Transgendered” Really? She’s a man and I can’t understand where the ambiguity comes in here. What happened to the days when dude just donned some women clothes, got a few shots and lived out loud? I miss the transvestites–they kept it simple!

Trisha_B

“Fox insists she is a woman in every respect…” Uhm I”m sorry no your not. Do you have ovaries? Fallopian tubes? Do you bleed once a month? Can you carry children? Did your DNA change from male to female? Would Bones be able to ID your body as a female? I don’t think so. Just b/c you take estrogen pills everyday & have a man-made vagina, doesn’t mean you are “a woman in every respect.” I don’t knock those who are transgendered. If that’s what you want then so be it. But don’t compare yourself to the struggles of natural born woman, black people, or the disabled. Those are individuals who came into the world that way (except some disabled people). It wouldn’t be fair for to fight against women b/c even tho she’s taking hormones, she’s still a man.

Billy

I couldn’t agree with your perfect reasoning more! As a guy these are somethings I didn’t even consider. You tell HIM!

i knew these comments were gonna be ig’nant. check your cis-gender privilege. really,check it out on : / / takes up space.wordpress. c om /cis-privilege-checklist/. anyways,depending on how much estrogen she intakes and how low her testosterone level becomes,then i would have no problem with her competing against cis-gendered women.

Dichu eba realy lub mehSteebie

He still has the body and physique of a man which gives him the unfair advantage of possibly winning the competition and also puts the “real” female fighter at risk of serious body harm. Even more than usual.

it’s not unfair that men are stronger than women on average; is unfair that women are judged as less than for not having as much physical strength as men. anyways,based on the books that i’ve read on transgenderism,the transwomen reported a lessening ,not weakening, of their strength during long term use of estrogen. btw,muscularity is found in both sexes.

Dichu eba realy lub mehSteebie

Um…yes I do know muscularity is found in both sexes. I passed anatomy. Its also scientifically proven that men have more muscle mass than women. A man in tip top shape and condition will be about 8 times out of 10 stronger than a woman in tip top condition. That’s just the way they were built. Unless they can physically prove that the estrogen he may or may not be taking has broken his muscle mass down so much to where he is somewhat equal to the female fighters, then he should not be allowed to fight. And based on the picture above, imo, he is not there yet.

Dichu eba realy lub mehSteebie

Btw, I never said it was unfair for men to be stronger its just the truth. I also never said that women were less than, we just weren’t made to have the same body density as a man.

i don’t know of any books featuring scientific case studies of transwomen but i have read books on transsexualism (transgenderism is a social movement,oops) where the transwomen reported changes in muscle mass and strength. the book is Transgender Voices by Lori Girshick.

jjac401

Absolutely not! This is an altered man with all of the same physical strength he/she had to begin with. It would not be fair.

Ashley J

He can pretend to be anything HE wants but fact: HE is NOT a SHE!!!

http://www.yourtango.com/users/cheekee-baby cheekee baby

Its a man. Flipping your wiener inside out does not change that. Growing your hair and plucking your eyebrows doesn’t change that. Popping estrogen pills for dang sure doesn’t make you a woman. Why don’t she/he create a transgender UFC division? That’s the only way it would be fair.

IllyPhilly

Nope. That is why I personally don’t understand the s3x changes some people go through. You don’t get the “benefits” of trading off. I’m not knocking it though.

bigdede

NO! I didn’t even need to read this long article to answer no. Heck no!! Why do people keep messing with nature. Plastic surgery, botox, transgender reassignment, etc. Leave what God made alone!!!

Amija James

They are killing me with this bs! Dude, you are not a woman!

genii love

WHOA! absolutely not! No matter what this transgendered person may RIGHTFULLY think and feel…they have to realize that they were in fact BORN a man! I know transgendered people take hormones to help with the adjustment from male to female and vice versa but Fallon will ALWAYS be capable of being physically stronger than a woman. Putting Fallon into the same ring as a woman puts the other fighter at a great disadvantage no matter how much training she may have.

I’m all for equal rights but there are two separate arenas for a reason and unfortunately Fallon probably doesn’t qualify for either.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HUPW7EMJ5YO2NOL345BVZ24MEA Christopher

This is laughable. It doesn’t matter that he’s been snipped and received breast implants. His DNA states he is a man. If he doesn’t like it, fine. But he’s a man now wanting to fight against other women. Smh. When did therapist give up on trying to help people and decide to send then to a cosmetic surgeont?